Emergency services vehicles, such as ambulances and fire and rescue vehicles, share their traffic routes with a variety of other non-emergency vehicles, such as cars and trucks carrying one or more occupants. During operation, the cabins of non-emergency vehicles may be insulated from various traffic sounds, such as sirens utilized by emergency services vehicles to warn surrounding traffic of their approach. In addition, many common non-emergency vehicles are equipped with entertainment devices, such as radios, and in some modern multi-passenger vehicles, video playback devices, such as DVD players and video displays, which may fill the cabin of such non-emergency vehicles with a variety of sound or noise.
As a result, an occupant of a typical non-emergency vehicle may not hear a siren emitted by an approaching emergency services vehicle in time to maneuver the non-emergency vehicle piloted by the occupant out of the path of the emergency services vehicle. For example, the sound produced by a radio or video playback device within the non-emergency vehicle may obscure the sound of an approaching emergency services vehicle. This effect may be exacerbated when entertainment devices, such as radios, are played at high volume levels. In addition, hearing impaired occupants may have difficulty distinguishing a siren sound emitted by an approaching emergency services vehicle.
Systems and methods for assessing sound within a non-emergency vehicle to alert an occupant, such as a driver, of the non-emergency vehicle, to an approaching emergency services vehicle are therefore desirable. More particularly, systems and methods utilizing a mobile communications device (such as a smartphone) within a non-emergency vehicle to detect or identify a siren sound associated with an approaching emergency services vehicle are desirable, especially under cabin conditions, such a radio playing music turned to a high volume, that may tend to drown out or obscure the sound of an approaching siren. In addition, systems and methods utilizing the mobile communications device to provide a secondary or supplemental alert, such as a supplemental visual or aural alert, in response to detection of an oncoming siren, are desirable.